VOLTA

(Remote Area, Liebe Detail, Freerange, Music Man)

At the tender age of 29, Volta (Raphaël Parisod) is one of the rare artists to have been around for more than 12 years. At first he was influenced by his elder brother and one can imagine him at 7 years old, standing on a stool in awe as he experimented with his big brother’s djing equipment, his first synthesizer tightly held under his arm. Later on, once he was old enough to actually be allowed into clubs, he discovered Dave Clarke, who became an infinite source of artistic and technical inspiration. After getting his first taste of playing in Ibiza with Jaime and Alfredo at only 16, he exploded on the Swiss scene, playing House and Techno with great artists such as Derrick May, Rolando, Claude Vonstroke, Marco Carola and Mandy. Today there is no local club, festival or event that has not called on him to ensure a full ecstatic dance floor.

The Volta touch is synonym to dance music in the noble sense. He doesn’t adhere to only one « style » of music and can easily switch from Techno to Electro to House. Combining scratch techniques and total control, his sets flirt with one’s curiosity and appeals to an open minded public, tribal, groovy and relentless.

In July 2003 Raphaël opened the VR Records shop in Lausanne and founded R-Productions, an event agency which organizes big electronic events in Switzerland. He was the first to bring the more “modern” sound to huge clubs such as the MAD in Lausanne, offering a palette of excellent then unknown artists such as Agnés and Lee Van Dowski. He is also at the origin of many party concepts such as Pirate Audio and Le Moulin Bleu.

End of 2003 saw the opening of his Dj school where he not only teaches mixing techniques on vinyl but also computer assisted music. Volta is affectionately considered a local hero as he continuously transmits his love for music by not only motivating new talent and creating events where others can play, but also by teaching others. His simple, “star –system” free outlook is endearing and has earned him the respect of a whole generation of music lovers.

In 2006 Volta and Alexandre created the group Bu and signed their first remix of Jesse Somfay’s Jewelsweet Groove on the Audio Invader label. The hypnotic sounds and pumping rhymes that the track emits were play listed by artists such as Troy Pierce and Gregor Tresher.

Today he has turned towards producing his own sound and collaborates with the Swiss artist Salvatore Freda. Mythical labels such as Liebe Detail, Music Man and Remote Area have snatched their tracks up and soon their beats will be heard on dance floors around the world.